Investigating the Role of Reactive Oxygen Species in Regulating Autophagy

Autophagy is an intracellular lysosomal degradation process induced under stress conditions. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) regulate autophagy implicated in cell survival, death, development, and many human diseases. This could be through generation of ROS from intracellular compartments such as the mitochondria or an external source such as oxidative stress. Various methods have been developed for the detection of autophagy; however, the implementation of these methods and the interpretation of results often differ. In this chapter, we summarize the current understanding of autophagy and ROS regulation of autophagy. Methods available for detecting autophagy under ROS conditions are described and considerations that need to be addressed when designing experimental protocols discussed.